Just One Little Lie
by hmdchickadee
Summary: Fished out of the Black Lake, a amnesiac girl returns to reality in the hospital wing with the explanation that she fell into the lake and got attacked by a mermaid. But when she finds out that the explanation isn't true, she starts to question life itself and tries to figure out how one little lie spirals her world out of control.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone! This is my new project and I won't be finishing the others because I feel like my writing style has changed these past few years. But don't worry, I am going to stick with this story! I found the beginning of this in my archives on my laptop and wanted to pull it along, to see where it'd go. Enjoy!**

* * *

I blink slowly, sputtering out ice-cold water and gasping for air. My vision is fuzzy, almost cloudy, but I can make out two faces right in front of me: one pale white and the other with the lips moving. Even though the lips are moving, I can't understand what they are saying because I can't hear. No sound is being comprehended, and it would've worried me more if my head weren't pounding like a hurricane.

My vision seems to sharpen, slowly becoming clearer and clearer until I can see two teenage boys' face, both familiar but one with eyes like emeralds and beach blonde hair and the other one with his lips moving rapidly and his sapphire blue eyes watching me in a gaze that seems to make me want to tell him everything. I start to hear words like "okay," "Hospital," "draft," and "help." Then I start to form phrases with his words.

"Are you okay? Do you need me to carry you into the hospital wing," the blue eye boy asks, worry coating his words. Wait. Did I hear that right? He asked if I was okay?

I try to prop myself up on my elbows, but I can't do it without gasping in pain and clutching my head. The pounding increases as my movement increases, so I just lie there on the ground. It is then that I notice that I am on top of soft, green grass and an enormous crowd is forming. Also, I notice that my clothes are stuck to me and there is red blood smothering the three of us. I hope that's not mine.

"This doesn't look so good. I'm taking you to the hospital wing," blue eyes murmurs, leaning over to pick me up. Once he holds me securely, we head towards this giant castle in the distance. Both boys try to walk faster, but the motion nauseates me and my moaning slows them down.

It takes what seemed like forever; going through endless halls and countless sets of staircases, but eventually we make it to what I presume is the hospital wing. Two people are in the room, a tall man with turquoise hair in black slacks and a white shirt who leans against the wall and seems to be talking to the woman across from him. The woman is young, petite, and a platinum blonde who sits on the corner of one of the dozens of cots, flipping through a magazine with a cover that moves. Gosh, I must be hallucinating. A cover that moves on a magazine? Definitely not normal.

"What do we have here," she asks curiously, getting off the cot and walking towards us. "Al, do I have to owl Uncle Harry to tell him about this?" What's owling? Who's Uncle Harry? And most importantly, what happened?

"We were walking by the Black Lake and she fell into the water. A mermaid got her," blue eyes answers slowly, carrying me to the corner bed and setting me down carefully before sitting in the chair next to the bed. He puts his brunette head in his hands and continued. "Merlin, it's my fault, because I didn't catch her as she was dragged under. But I saved her. She was choking on water, do I did the muggle thing you taught me, CPR right?"

The pale boy looks back and forth from me to the lady, asking, "You can fix her, right? Mom and Dad will kill me if she's broken."

The girl laughs, "Scorp, your sister is not broken. In shock, maybe, but not broken. Does James know?"

Wait, green eyes is my brother? And his name is Scorp? What type of name was that? And who's James?

"Not at all. Unless he's heard a rumor. He was going to meet up with us at two," blue eyes mentions.

Quietly, the lady shakes her head and heads to the large wardrobe in the corner, pulling out a few oddly shaped bottles and a few glasses. One glass is filled with a thick green liquid and shoved my way, while two more are filled with a deep amber liquid and handed to the boys.

"Sweetheart," she seems to chirp. "I'm going to give you this calming drought and then some medicine. It'll be alright." She turns towards the boys, "Al, Scorp, if you tell anyone that I gave you Firewhiskey, I'll get Uncle Charlie to set the dragons after the lot of you. Understood?"

I try to stifle a giggle. "I'm sorry," I croak. My voice is so hoarse, it sounds like sand paper is being scratched together. I can't even bear to hear it, it's so horrendous.

"So she speaks," the man with the turquoise hair muses, pulling up a chair to the bed. He motions for my brother to sit down, and goes to the cabinet and pulls out a tin wrapped rectangle. The rectangle turns out to be chocolate and is broken up and handed to the boys. "Eat it, it's dark. Uncle Harry says that my dad used to—"

"Swear by it. We know," blue eyes groans, biting into the chocolate and taking a sip of the amber fluid.

The lady presses the glass with the green liquid against my lips. It doesn't taste so bad, it only smells dreadful. Next, another spoon is shoved into my mouth, filled with a syrup that tastes like cherries.

"How'd you get her? Hand to hand, spells maybe," the man asks curiously.

"Teddy," the lady scolds as she smoothens my hair and goes to the desk.

Teddy, the man, sighs. "Victoire, it's my job as the Defense against of Dark Arts professor to know what they did. To know if I'm actually getting through. Plus, when I tell McGonagall, I need to explain what my students did to the mermaids."

Blue eyes takes a sip of his drink before confessing, "I did the bubblehead charm on myself and shot one blast of that one that you and dad tell me not to use. You told me it had big consequences, and now I know. But I cast it."

Teddy's face turns ashen. "Al, no. Not Sectumsempra. You've heard the story. You can't do that."

Scorpius looks up from his shoes. "What does that do?"

"Thousands of cuts appear. Makes the victim bleed to death," Victoire answers softly from her position at the desk.

I feel Scorpius's green eyes land on me. "Wait, isn't that what dad told us about? When he was in the fight in his sixth year? And his teacher caught him just in time."

We were told about this? Since when?

"I don't remember," I answer honestly. "I don't understand anything. Spells? Mermaids? The black lake? Brothers? I don't even remember our parents. I don't know anything!" Everyone watches as I rant. Victoire scribbles furiously on a piece of parchment as both teenage boys' jaws drop. Teddy gets up from the edge of the cot.

"Darling," he drawls. "We're going to have to notify St. Mungos."

* * *

It didn't take long until the headmistress and two men in white robes arrive at the hospital wing, both carrying large bags. They all start to ask all of us questions until Teddy stood up and answers, "I'm just came here to talk to Victoire. I know nothing!" He strides out of the room, holding the door open as a teenage boy rushes in, looking alarmed.

"Sara! Are you okay? I got to our tree and saw your stuff everywhere and blood on the grass and—" he stops and whirls towards Al and Scorpius. "What the hell did you two do to her? Albus, I swear that mum and dad will murder you if I don't first. And you, Malfoy. If you hurt her, you're dead."

Who does he think he is?

Scorpius squirms as the boy yells at him, and looks at him with a face full of anger. "Why would I hurt my sister? If anything, I should be mad at you. Not being here for Sarafine when she needed you," he spits out.

"Why you little," the boy growls, his olive eyes flashing with fury.

Victoire places a hand on his shoulder. "James," she warns. "Think rationally."

"I am being rational. I just heard that my girlfriend is in the hospital wing via the rumor mill and I'm being told to settle down? Incredible."

For some unexplained reason, I look at the boy, incredulously. "I'm dating you," I laugh. "Yeah right. I have a better shot with blue eyes McHottie here than with you." Wait, did I just say that? Oops.

"Blue eyes McHottie," the blue eyed boy repeats.

Scorpius nudges him, "I think she means you, mate."

Meanwhile, the other boy, who claims he is my boyfriend, is roaring in the background. "How dare she. Just wait until my father hears about this," he roars.

"Hey, that's my catchphrase," Scorpius mentions.

I giggle and look towards my brother. "Scorp, that's not something to be proud of. Just saying."

* * *

Apparently, I'm at a magic school. Also, I take classes. Add to that that I'm a sixth year, which is my second to last year, and have to prepare for my NEWT's, which are magical exams, next year. Plus, I play quidditch, a sport played on flying broomsticks—bizarre, right—and multiple balls hundreds of feet off the ground. And my boyfriend is James Sirius Potter, who happens to be the eldest son of Harry Potter, savior of the wizarding world.

Oh, and Blue Eyes McHottie? Yeah, he's Albus Severus Potter, James's younger brother. Major oops. I don't think that James is happy with me as of now. Same with Scorpius, who in fact, really is my brother, since I called his best mate "Blue Eyes McHottie".

Other than that, mum and dad are considering taking me out of Hogwarts and the Healer school that I had applied to before the accident. They were furious when they found out that I couldn't remember anything. And then, when my father found out that the mermaids had gotten me, he went straight to McGonagall's office to have a chat with her.

But then they realized that taking me out of Hogwarts might damage my ability to remember.

Everyday for the past week, Scorpius gathers my assignments and notes from Liz Wood, who everyone claims is my best friend. And every night, Liz brings me magazines and sweets and the latest gossip.

So get this. Rumour has it that the mermaid was sent after me. But also, rumour also has it that James was found in an empty corridor with Kayla McLaggen, so I can't be sure about James or the mermaids.

Liz is furious when she tells me about James. She is so furious that when her brother Riley comes to bring her a parcel from their parents, she won't accept it unless James hasn't touched it. Her temper is as fiery as her hair, which is as red as a cherry Bertie Bott's jellybean.

Poor Riley. He has no clue why his sister is such a spitfire. All he knows is that she isn't happy with his fellow prefect.

While Liz is digging through the parcel, Riley and I talk quidditch. We chat about our (Slytherin's) shot of getting the house cup and the reserve player who will take over my chaser spot until I am well enough to play. He promises me that the first thing he will do when I get out of the hospital wing is to take me flying.

"I've talked to Scorpius, and we're not sure that you can fly on your own yet, so I'm gonna work you up to flying on your own," Riley explains, casually tossing in a smile at the end of the explanation. When he sees my worried expression, he smiles and laughs, "It'll be fun. You and me on a broomstick, flying across the pitch. We'll have a blast."

"sound like you are trying to make this romantic," Liz mutters, pulling a jade pendant from the tissue. She rolls it twice in her palms and frowns. "It's not the real pendant. Riley, what happened to my jewelry?"

* * *

Monday morning, just a week after the accident, Victoire excuses me from the hospital wing, telling me to have fun. It seems different, walking around the castle after the accident. There are more whispers when I pass by in the corridors and every time I pass someone casting a spell, I stop and watch in amazement. That and I don't remember my way around the castle, so I'm lost, again, and I think that I have been walking in very large circles for the good part of an hour.

Finally, I stop and try to ask for directions from a painting, of a bowl of fruit, but it won't help me at all. I stand there, talking to the fruit when the canvas swings back, and I see a familiar brunette head emerging from the framework.

"Lost," Riley asks, coyly. He leans against the wall with barely any effort and brushes his caramel curls back.

I nod, "very. And it doesn't help when the paintings won't give me directions."

Riley laughs, "just tickle the pear. It'll let you into the kitchens. There, the house elves will help you." He grabs my hand. "but I wanna take you out for that ride."

"now? As in right now?"

"yes, now. McGonagall won't care. You just need to rest up. And me, well, I don't need grades for my profession," he mentions. "I've been offered spots at Puddlemere, Chudley, Appleby, Wimbourne, Kenmare, and Quiberon."

"and," I prodded, wondering which team he would choose.

He flashes a toothy grin. "Kenmare, Wimbourne, and Puddlemere seem most realistic. Chudley's got such an old school fan base that I doubt that they'd like a new keeper. And Appleby just doesn't seem like I could fit in."

I pause in the middle of my step. "And Quiberon?"

"it would be cool in France and all, but I don't know. It doesn't seem..."

"the shocking pink robes," I ask, knowingly. How did I remember that?

"exactly.". He leads me out of the castle before continuing. "but, Puddlemere is where dad is, and they only want me on their reserves. And Wimbourne plays a lot of rivalry games. I think Kenmare's gonna be too calm."

* * *

It feels nice, up high in the sky, flying around the golden hoops. We fly until I start to get dizzy from the movement. Riley brings us lower so I can relax, and it works for just about a minute. Then it starts to scare me.

A mirage appears below me. I feel a tugging at my right ankle. Shrill screams sound from my lungs. And those mermaids just keep coming.

Their hair is swirling around them. The air sparkles with the reflection of the scales on their tails. Scratches are made by long, sharp, red fingernails that claw at my ankle. They all cackle, laughing at my pain. And every single one has a sinister smile painted on her face.

"Sara! Sara," Riley calls my name, bringing me out of this nightmare. We slowly start downwards, our feet touching the quidditch pitch and we collapse to the ground.

I breathe heavily, and clutch the grass beneath me, still screaming. My ankle is untouched, only the pain of the scratches linger.

Riley kneels down next to me. "Sarafine. What happened," he asks.

I stop my screaming and gasp for air, watching horrifiedly at my ankle, expecting to see the mermaids still there. "They...they came to get me. They scratched my ankle and tried to drown me. My ankle...it burns.". Riley watches as I cry out the words, clutching the ankle.

He smoothens out my hair, "who are they? Tell me so I can help you."

I sob, "the mermaids. The ones that did this to me."

Riley holds my hand. "Sarafine, I'm gonna get you off the pitch. Hufflepuff's got the pitch booked soon, and I'm sure you don't want everyone watching," he whispers, quietly.

I feel two large, rough hands pick me up, holding me close to their owner. It feels natural, being held like this by Riley. It feels like...this was meant to be. My insides start to tingle as I get the feeling as if I was hit in the head with a brick.

My fingernails find their way into my palms as the scene unfolds in front of me. Studying by the black lake with my brother and Al. Scorp bringing up James and I, and changing the subject quickly to how he spotted me snogging Riley in the lockers after my quidditch practice a few weeks ago. Al watching curiously as I argued with my brother. Our argument reaching a stalemate and me storming off to the pier a few yards away. My dive into the frigid brackish water. The two boys jumping in after me. Me yelling at them for following me. A ticklish feeling on my right ankle just as I'm dragged under. Mouthfuls of water being swallowed as I try to scream.

And everything turns black.

* * *

**What did you think? I thought that something new would keep my mind off of the stresses of reality, and this is what I came up with. I hope you enjoyed it!**

**XOXO,**

**hmdchickadee**


	2. Chapter 2

I wake up in the hospital wing a few hours later. It seems so quiet, so familiar, and after a quick glance, I realize that it's only Victoire and I. Every cot but mine is empty and Victoire sits in the corner, flipping through the newspaper.

"Finally awake," she asks, getting up to check on me. "Gave us a good scare. Riley carried you in yelling and screaming. He thought you were having a heart attack."

"What did I yell," I ask, watching as she sits in the chair next to my bed and places a hand on my forehead.

She answers, "When you came in, you were bawling and claiming that you were sorry, but it felt so good. Riley was dead silent and listened carefully to your wails, muttering how it was his fault. Do you want to tell me why?"

I nod. "I had a flashback. One of those where your senses are taken over and all you can do is thrash around and scream until you black out. It started when Riley took me to the pitch to fly. I thought that the mermaids would drown me again. I could feel their nails clawing at my skin." I pause and pull off the sheets, sighing in relief when I see that my ankle is untouched. "Once we got to the ground, I started to see the day of the accident. Or I thought I did. What I saw was different than what Albus and Scorpius told you what happened. I saw myself with Scorpius and Albus, studying by the lake. We were chatting when my brother brought up the topic of my relationships with James and someone else. I'm not totally sure, but I think that it was Riley. He'd caught Riley and I snogging last week after our private quidditch practice, and I guess that he wanted to confront me about it. I argued with my brother, and when I lost, I dove into the lake, the boys following. I'd been yelling at them when I was dragged under." Victoire watches as I rub my eyes, pausing for a moment. "I could feel all of it. The scratches, the water in my lungs, everything."

She just nods and murmurs, "That's why Riley wouldn't leave. He was practically glued to your bedside. I made him go to supper before he ended up here too." Before she gets up to grab something from the wardrobe, she asks, "Why did you cheat on my cousin? I understand that he's a prat sometimes, but why?"

"He wouldn't do anything. All he wanted was the social status. A Malfoy and a Potter dating gave us advances in the social ladder and he just wanted the limelight. That's what I remember saying, if that was real. Is it real?"

Victoire considers it for a moment. "It seems more likely than you falling in the water on the shore and being almost drowned in such shallow water."

"So why would they lie?"

We sit in silence, pondering my question.

* * *

When I can't stand it anymore and need to talk, I start with what I think is somewhat obvious.

"At least Riley loves me. Or at least, I think he does. I can't remember," I pause for a second, feeling my fingers untuck my button down and brush the scarred skin on my waistline. Thirteen small cuts created a stitch line on my waist; with pink, puckered skin flawing the porcelain color of my stomach. Victoire watches as I shrink back from the feeling and sits on the side of the bed, her eyes wide and her mouth open. Where did these come from?

"What happened," she whispers, motioning to the puckered skin.

I watch as she examines the scars. "I don't know." My voice trails off, leaving the room with a nearly unbreakable silence.

"Have you even seen James?"

I shake my head, "not since when I first came in here. Why?"

Victoire frowns, mentioning, "That scar, on the far left, it looks like a J. And in the middle, one curves like an S. The last one forms a messed up P. According to records, the only student here with those initials is him." She turns away, giving me a fraction of a second of space before she continues. "I think I'm going to go visit him at supper. Do you want to come? It's almost over." She helps me out of the cot and leads me towards the great hall, where we find her cousin causing a ruckus at the Gryffindor table.

"James," she chirps sweetly. "How are you?" It seems like she's so cheerful all the time.

"I'm doing fine. Just like I was an hour ago," he answers through a mouthful of shepherds' pie. He turns around to see me with Victoire and looks surprised. "Sara. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be studying?"

"If you were a caring boyfriend, you would know that I was in the hospital wing again," I answer. He gasps deeply, acting hurt.

"How dare you—".

"You didn't even visit me last week. I think I should've taken the hint," I continue. I watch as Victoire leaves us and heads to the Professors' table. "James, I don't think that I can do this. I don't know if I can trust you. Not when I have this on me." Carefully, I slightly lift up my shirt to show the scars. "JSP. You're the only one that I know with those initials."

James looks hurt, as if I sucker punched him. It takes a few seconds before he regains his composure and starts going at me. "You will be crushed once the rumor mill gets you," he threatens. "No guy will ever date you. I will be the end of you."

I roll my eyes. "So be it. I think I can find a decent guy." Again, he gasps, and I turn towards the Slytherin table, plopping down next to Liz. When I sit down, I sigh deeply and put my head on the table, trying to focus on my breathing.

Liz puts down her fork and hands me a glass of pumpkin juice from the center of the table. "You look awful. What happened?"

"I had a panic attack when your brother tried to take me flying. It was so embarrassing," I groan. She glances a few tables over, spotting Riley clowning around with some of his Ravenclaw friends.

"My brother? You had a panic attack with him? He never told me," she complains. "What'd he do?"

I sit up and sip the sweet juice. "He brought me to the ground and let me lay on the ground for a moment. And then he carried me to the hospital wing."

"And you've been there since?"

I nod, "Yeah. But apparently, I was screaming out some of my life secrets, and Victoire weaseled out that I was cheating on James. I didn't even know that until I blacked out. I think I started to remember."

Liz nudges me. "Why wasn't I told about your affair? I could've covered for you."

I grab one of the delicious looking pumpkin pasties from the table. "Like I said, I had no clue. Amnesia, remember? But apparently, Scorp caught us in the lockers after quidditch practice. Ratted on me to Al."

"When?" my friend's face lights up with curiosity.

I nibble at the dessert. "He told Al the day of the incident. That's why I went into the lake. Or what we think is why I went into the lake."

Liz continues to eat, but first asks, "Who is this mysterious guy? He sounds so sexy the way you describe him. Snogging in the lockers after quidditch. Definitely isn't one of the guys our age. Al never does that with me..."

I stumble across my words, trying to figure out how to say it. "You know him. I don't remember much, but I think it's him. I'm almost a hundred percent positive." She nods excitedly, and I continue. "Wanna see him?"

"Show me that hottie," she laughs.

I point down the table. "You see him down there? Emerald and silver sweater, light brown hair, brown eyes. Chatting with Paul Kingsley. That's him."

Liz chokes on her mouthful of dinner and goes, "Him? You've been dating my brother and I didn't know?"

I nod, expecting her to get upset and start yelling, but all she does is sit there, shocked.

"Oh god," she murmurs. "I just called my brother super sexy. I can't even..."

Riley looks our way, and smiles, seeing me out of the hospital wing. He gets up from his conversation and sits down with us, greeting, "Hey Sara. What's wrong with Liz?"

I smirk, "she just called you sexy." Liz looks like she's about to die with the look she sends me.

Riley laughs. "You finally figured it out, Lizzy? You gotta admit that I'm fit," he teases, slightly pulling up his sweater to reveal his toned abdomen. Liz glares at her brother, and he pulls the sweater down. "You know I'm just teasing. Why did she call me sexy?"

Liz pipes up, "Sara told me about how she was cheating on James and never told me it was you she was cheating with. I thought you were some mysterious hottie."

"Aww, I'm flattered," Riley laughs.

I shake my head and stop, remembering what I did earlier. "I broke up with James," I mention. Both of my friends look at me with unbelieving faces.

"When," Liz asks.

I sigh, "just about ten minutes ago."

"Why don't you tell me this stuff," Liz complains, fake hitting me.

"I was getting at it. After the more important stuff. Like my panic attack," I explain, glancing at Riley.

His hand rests on mine as he says, "you scared me to death, love. I thought you'd been crucio'd with the amount of screaming you were doing. And when you blacked out, I'd just put you on one of the cots at the hospital wing."

Liz gasps at her brother's words and turns towards me, grasping onto my shoulders and shaking me. "Are you okay? You didn't tell me you were that bad."

I laugh, "I didn't know that I was that bad. I thought I was having a panic attack."

* * *

The common room is filled to the brim, students filling in every spot from the doors to the dungeons to the crackling green fire. Liz is sprawled across an armchair, translating a reading from ancient runes while I'm painting my fingernails a jet black.

"Black today? You're going dark, aren't you," Liz teases as she looks up from the creased parchment. Her nose wrinkles from the fumes of the varnish and I fan the air to reduce the smell and to dry my nails.

"Not at all. I just wanted to change it up. To be different."

She ducks behind her glasses. "You have been different, you just don't realize it."

Ever so slowly, the room starts emptying, and by now, it's us and a group of first years.

Unsure of what to say, I sit silent, looking around the room. The first years are all huddled around a History of Magic textbook, taking turns reading before madly scribbling on their parchments. Liz is still translating, but she ends up folding it up and tucking it into her textbook. "Lets go up, I've got some pumpkin pasties stashed in my trunk," she offers.

I accept, following her down a hall, past five sets of doors, and to the room on the left, where three other girls are on their beds, gossiping.

"I heard that her brother tried to drown her," a blonde with black eye shadow caked on her face tosses up.

The others shake their heads, "No, she was cheating on James with Al and James found out, so he had Al try and drown her."

"You've got it wrong, the giant squid tried to eat her," the brunette with frizzy curls clarifies.

Liz shakes her head. "It was none of those, girls. Why don't you put all of your remaining brain cells together to find the answer." She drops her bag on the bed nearest the large wardrobe in the corner and opens the wardrobe, browsing through the clothes.

Dresses of every color are strewn throughout the room, and after a while, I decide to take a shower. The warm water feels scalding against my skin, but the burning sensation reassures me that the mermaids didn't kill me. When I emerge from the washroom, Liz is totally changed and putting on large gold earrings while the other girls are still gossiping.

I slide under the covers of what seems to be my bed and Liz heads towards the stairs, mentioning, "I'll be back after curfew. It's date night with Al." The last thing of her that I see is her smirk and I try to shut my eyes and sleep, but nothing comes.

Then, again, I slip into unconsciousness and my world turns black.

* * *

I wake up because someone is shaking me and I see Liz at my side, her hands on my shoulders and black tears running down her cheeks. "Sara, wake up. You have to," she cries, still shaking me. The other girls are complaining about screaming, but I have no clue what they're talking about.

"Sara, you need to stop screaming. You need to-" her voice falters and she runs out into the hallway. Not long later, she comes back into the dorm, with a tall boy with her. She's crying, pointing, and explaining to the boy, who walks over to my side and sits on the edge of the bed.

I sit up, unsure of what's happening. The boy is wincing as Lizzy cries, "I got into the room, and she was screaming her lungs out. I can't make her stop, and Slughorn's gonna come soon if this doesn't stop."

He nods, and looks at me. "Darling, calm down. We're gonna help you. Just stop screaming." I don't feel myself screaming, but he's still wincing, so I know that I haven't stopped. "Sweetheart, please. Shhhh. It's going to be alright."

My roommates start whining even louder as this continues and Liz snaps at me, "Just shut up! You're making it so we can't sleep!"

The boy ruffles his hair as he tries to think. It seems as if he hasn't figured out what to do until he leans forward and smashes his lips against mine. Everything slows down until it halts to a complete stop, with the kiss being the only thing that matters. We kiss for a while, until he pulls away and stands up.

"I better stay here just in case," he mutters, sitting down on the cobblestones next to my bed.

Liz shakes her head slowly. Her hair swishes with the slight movements of the shaking. "Please, take her. I'm sorry, but I can't worry about this, I can't worry about her having an anxiety attack because she woke up and couldn't remember. Please," she pleads. The tears come faster, leaving faded trails of the pigment on her cheeks.

The boy sighs and stands up again, holding out both arms to me. "Come on, we're going to my place. I'll carry you," he offers, wrapping his arms around my torso and lifting me off the bed. He shows no strain when he carries me out the door and down the hall into the common room. The common room is empty, with everything perfectly placed and the green flames in the fireplace dying. All of the portraits but one are asleep, with the one portrait being the portrait of the young Salazar Slytherin.

Salazar taps impatiently at his gilded frame. "Go back inside so I can sleep," he snaps, swinging back to reveal a hidden dorm room. The room is sparsely furnished, with a double bed in a corner and a leather couch on the other side of the room. We enter the room and the boy leads me to the bed, setting me down on top of the rumpled bedspread. I slide under the covers, curling up into the fetal position as I close my eyes and think of a deep sleep.

Nothing comes and the boy is standing next to me, skeptically watching me as I shut my eyes tightly and whimper. Finally, something comes to me, but it isn't sleep.

* * *

_We both collapsed on the emerald blades, drenched in sweat and laughing so hard we couldn't help but roll across the ground. His left arm was draped around my shoulders; my right hand was face up on his stomach, our ankles crossed. The frosted grass made crackling sounds every time we moved, giving some background noise to our laughing. _

_The fresh memory of him falling off his broom while trying to catch a quaffle that I had whirled his way sent us both to hysterics. In his free fall, a shrill, girl like scream escaped from his throat. If he screams like a girl, I doubt that he's a Slytherin. So what is he? Ravenclaw? Hufflepuff? Gryffindor?_

_The way he carried himself showed that he isn't a Hufflepuff. He's too self confident. And even though he had a thick vocabulary, or as much of one as I could tell, he wasn't a Ravenclaw. So he was a Gryffindor._

_My throat pinched, stopping my laughing as I scrambled away from the boy. _

"_I can't. I've gotta go," I muttered, grabbing my broom, taking one last glance, and running away. The quaffle from earlier was abandoned, laying on the emerald shards behind the center hoop. His broom was by the quaffle. And the boy, he looked so familiar but I couldn't place why, with his smoothed back caramel curls, Hershey's kiss eyes, and splattering of freckles across the bridge of his nose, had sat up, watching me leave with a look that I couldn't decipher._

* * *

I blink rapidly, sucking in deep breaths. My hands shake and whimper sound from my lips. The boy in the vision, he looked so familiar. He looks so—it's him. It's the boy who is watching me, the boy who carried me out of the dorm while I cried.

He's sprawled across the couch, a book lying on his chest as he snores. Just like in the mirage, his caramel curls are carefully smoothed back, even when he's ruffled his hair too many times to count.

I carefully slide out of the bed and tip toe over to the couch, picking the book off of his chest and tapping him on the shoulder lightly. "Hello," I ask as his eyes open. He sits up, rubbing his head.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Concern floods his words, coating them with pure worry.

I exhale, "Who are you? Why do I know you?"

It stays silent until he answers, "Sara, I'm Riley. Remember? I'm your best friend's brother. We went out for a while." He gets up from the couch and walks over to the bed, where I'm supposed to be sleeping. "It's time for you to go back to bed. I know that it's hard, but you need to sleep." The sheets are pulled back so I can lay down and he can wrap me with the blankets. Exactly that happens, and he strides towards the couch.

"No, don't," I whimper, reaching out towards him. "Stay with me. Don't go. I can't—" Soon enough, I feel his warmth next to me and he wraps his arms around me, just like when he carried me out of the dorm. Our fingers interlock and the last thing that I hear is him whispering "Love you, Sarafine."

* * *

**What do you think? Please review!**

**XOXO,**

**hmdchickadee**


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